I observed this incident yesterday, the 733 held at the LBA for 45 minutes at FL100 waiting for an improvement. At that time MME(1st alternate) was at 800-1000 metres so no problem, the 733 then headed for MME descending and on radar vectors for an ILS on 23. Once on the localisor the visibility was given at 500 metres and the pilot said he needed 550 metres, he sounded very nervous at this point and told the controller he was VERY low on fuel and needed to overshoot. The controller advised that vis was still at 500 metres and the 733 overshot at 300 feet with an immediate right turn to Newcastle and climbed to FL50. The pilot then said he would be calling a Mayday but never did, once at FL50 the 733 maintained 210 knots and on transfer to Newcastle ATC he again declared a PAN PAN and asked for a 3-4 mile final and priority approach. It obviously landed without incident.
